An 18-week maintenance project at the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Tuscarora Tunnel in Franklin County is expected to impact motorists beginning Sunday night, according to turnpike officials.

The weekly tunnel closure will occur at 9 p.m. Sundays, weather permitting, and continue until noon on Fridays, said turnpike spokeswoman Roseanne Placey. The weekly schedule will continue until June 26.

Eastbound traffic will be reduced to one lane and then cross over into one lane of the westbound tunnel. By 9 p.m. Sundays, the eastbound tunnel will be closed and all traffic will be “diverted into the westbound tunnel until noon on Friday, when the patterns are lifted,” according to the commission.

Delays are expected in both directions into evening hours, Placey said.

A “smart” work zone has been installed to monitor traffic conditions and display travel times on message boards before the tunnel in both directions, officials said.

The tunnel is on I-76 between mileposts 186 and 187, which is between the Fort Littleton Interchange (Exit 180) and the Willow Hill Interchange (Exit 189) on the border of Huntingdon and Franklin counties.

The maintenance work is part of a four-year, $110 million project to improve and modernize the tunnel. A majority of the work includes the removal of ceiling slabs, a new ventilation system, new membrane waterproofing and the replacement of walkways, concrete barriers and the drainage system in the tunnels.

Some enhancements have already been completed in the westbound tunnel that include additional lighting, in-pavement lights and overhead lane control signs, Placey said.

The tunnel’s eastbound tunnel opened in 1940, and the westbound section in 1968. The two tunnels were last renovated in the 1980s.

More information is available at www.paturnpike.com.

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